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By the time I arrived at Mr. Reynolds’s science class, I was a new person. My clothes were trendy, my hair was blown straight and cut into layers, and my makeup was flawless. My favorite piece, though, was the necklace. It was gorgeous.
Like a blood diamond, I reminded myself. A symbol of everything that Jake’s holding over my head.
The entire classroom stared at me as I walked in and took my seat.
Ariel looked as if she was about to faint.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
I shrugged. “Just a little shopping spree courtesy of Jake.”
“Jake took you shopping?”
I nodded.
“That’s incredible. He must really like you.”
I didn’t reply. Jake didn’t like me. I was a toy to him. Something to use for his own means and toss away. I smiled at my friend, reminding myself why I was allowing Jake to use me in the first place.
Science class passed quickly, and Ariel and I parted. She went to swim practice, and I went home to await Cole.
I’d missed our seventh period French tutoring session, thanks to Jake’s shopping spree. I wondered what he’d say about it.
Would he be back to the old, smart mouthed Cole, or would his mood be as miserable as it was the day before? I hoped it was the former. I kind of missed our banter.
I unlocked the front door and walked in to my apartment.
I froze. My dad was there. Along with another man in a suit that I’d never seen before.
They both turned to look at me.
“Bella,” Daddy said, covering the space between us and wrapping me in his arms. He looked like he was about to fall apart.
My stomach clenched. What was going on?
“Bella, what have you done?” He hissed in my ear.
“Miss French.” The man in the suit stood, and put one hand in his pocket. “My name is Detective Bruce Harding from the NYPD Drug Enforcement Task Force, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about your boyfriend.”